IAEA: Zaporizhzhia NPP connected to backup power supply for the first time in six months

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has restored access to backup power supply from the power grid for the first time in six months.

This was reported by the IAEA CEO Rafael Grossi.

According to him, this became possible after the completion of repairs to the second power transmission line today during the local silence period agreed upon by IAEA.

The connection of the 330 kV "Ferrosplavna-1" power transmission line took place on November 8 at 19:43 local time — two weeks after the resumption of operation of the 750 kV "Dniprovska" line.

"Today the plant has two power lines back up. This is a good day for nuclear safety, although the overall situation remains extremely fragile," Grossi said.

According to the IAEA, despite the restoration of the backup line, the situation in other regions of Ukraine poses a threat to nuclear safety. Two operating nuclear power plants — Khmelnytskyi and Rivne — were forced to reduce electricity production after the night attack. Last week, the Rivne NPP also temporarily reduced capacity due to damage to another substation.

What is known about the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP?

The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022 and have been operating under their control since then. An IAEA mission has been at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

In September of this year, Putin stated that the Russian Federation is ready to cooperate with the United States and Ukraine on the issue of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to him, “if favorable circumstances arise, we have discussed this with our American colleagues, we can even work together at the Zaporizhzhia NPP”.

Back in March of this year, the Russians stated that the Zaporizhzhia NPP is a Russian nuclear facility and that transferring control over it to Ukraine or any other country is impossible.

In April, Reuters published a US peace plan that proposed that Ukraine regain control of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The US would operate the plant and supply electricity to Ukraine and Russia. In response, Ukraine and the EU presented their own plan — in which Ukraine would regain control of the plant with the participation of the US, Russia is not mentioned in this issue.

Currently, ZNPP is connected to only one external power supply line.

“Energoatom” explained that if the only working line fails, it will mean that Zaporizhzhia NPP will lose external power supply to the station and will start emergency diesel generators.

However, their resources are limited both in terms of operating time and the availability of diesel fuel. Thus, the launch of diesel generators means the beginning of the countdown to the start of nuclear fuel melting.

On October 30, Russiaʼs massive combined strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure resulted in damage to substations critical to the countryʼs nuclear safety and security.

• On November 7, a local ceasefire was established near ZNPP to repair the 330-kilovolt backup power line that powered the plant.

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